Apparatus for performing multiple metal working operations on pipe



July 30, 1957 J. R. PARKER ETAL 2,300,942

APPARATUS FOR PERFORMING MULTIPLE METAL I WORKING OPERATIONS ON PIPE 4Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 8, 1954 0/77 as R. Par/var J. R. PARKER ETAL2,800,942 APPARATUS FOR PERFORMING MULTIPLE METAL WORKING OPERATIONS ONPIPE July 30, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 8, 1954 M. m 2% M Mmw M EE RG.W. e m m Z 0/ K J. R. PARKER ETAL 2,800,942 APPARATUS FORPERFORMING MULTIPLE METAL WORKING OPERATIONS ON PIPE 4 Sheets-Sheet 3July 30, 1957 Filed Oct. 8, 1954 y 0, J R. PARKER Em 2,800,942

APPARATUS FOR PERFORMING MULTIPLE METAL WORKING OPERATIONS ON PIPE FiledOct. 8, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 UPSETTING BEADING THREAD/N6 MAIN 4 MANUALCONTROL [Xl/AUJT CONTROL T/ML'R VALVE T VALVE [XHAUJT (JO/7765 R. ParkerMac/nae 6. Bra 22M INVENTORS 4 7' BY .m-MMWMQ yw 2. 2M M ATTORNEYSAPPARATUS FOR PERFORMFNG MULTIPLE METAL WGRKING OPERATIGNS ON PEPE JamesR. Parker and Maurice G. Brazzil, Houston, Tern; said Brazzil assignorto said Parker Application October 8, 1954, Serial No. 461,268

9 Claims. (Cl. 153-2) This invention relates to new and usefulimprovements in apparatus for threading pipe.

An object of this invention is to provide new and improved apparatus forthreading pipe, wherein both ends of a section of pipe are threadedsimultaneously to thereby obtain more uniform threads on the pipe thanwould be formed when each end of the section of pipe is separatelythreaded and also to effect more rapid operation.

An important object of this invention is to provide a new and improvedapparatus for rolling threads on a pipe, and particularly on pipe knownas shot hole pipe, wherein the pipe is first formed with an upsetportion at one end of the pipe so that the male end of one pipe isadapted to fit within the female end of another pipe, whereby aplurality of such threaded pipes are adapted to be interconnected toform an extended length of pipe.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved apparatuswherein a section of pipe moves into a first station wherein one endthereof is upset, then moves to a second station wherein a stop bead orshoulder is formed on its opposite end, and finally moves into a thirdstation wherein threads are simultaneously formed on each end thereof;the method being carried out in a con tinuous fashion to minimize timeand labor and effect economic savings.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved apparatushaving thread-forming elements which are adapted to form the threads bya rolling operation, together with means for simultaneously engagingeach end of the pipe section being worked upon with a pair of saidthread-forming elements, whereby subsequent rotation of said elementsrolls the desired threads into both ends of the pipe section in a singleoperation.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved apparatus forrolling threads on the end of a section of pipe, wherein such rolling ofthe threads is performed by a pair of rolling dies which have ageardrive connection which is adapted to remain engaged even though suchdies are pivoted for separation to receive the end of the section ofpipe.

Another object of this invention is to provide in combination with anapparatus for rolling threads on a secttion of pipe, a device forforming an upset portion at one end of the section of pipe and anotherdevice for forming a bead near the other end of the section of pipe at apredetermined distance therefrom, whereby said bead serves as a stop forthe upset portion on the end of the adjacent section of pipe when suchsections are connected together to relieve threads of excessive loads.

The construction designed to carry out the invention will be hereinafterdescribed together with other features thereof.

The invention will be more readily understood from a reading of thefollowing specification and by reference to the accompanying drawingsforming a part thereof, wherein an example of the invention is shown,and wherein:

nited States Patent 2,800,942 Patented July 30, 1957 ice Figure 1 is aschematic isometric view illustrating the basic method steps of thisinvention.

Figure 2 is an isometric view illustrating schematically the combinationapparatus of this invention for forming a section of pipe with threadsthereon at each end thereof.

Figure 3 is a sectional view illustrating the portion of the apparatusshown in Figure 2 for forming the upset at one end of a section of pipe.

Figure 4 is a sectional view illustrating the bead-forming portion ofthe apparatus illustrated in Figure 2. Figure 4A is a detailed elevationshowing the mounting of the resilient means used in the structure ofFigure 4.

Figure 5 is a sectional view illustrating the threadforming portion ofthe apparatus of Figure 2, with the parts in position prior to theinsertion of the section of pipe for the thread-rolling operation.

Figure 5A is an end view taken on line 5A-5A of Figure 5.

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 5, but illustrating an apparatuswith the parts in position during the rolling of the threads on thesection of pipe.

Figure 7 is a diagram of the control system for the apparatus of thisinvention.

In carrying out the method of this invention, a section of pipe P(Figure 1) having plain ends is first formed with an upset or enlargedportion A. Such upset portion A can, of course, be formed with varioustypes of apparatus, but as schematically shown in Figure 1, one type ofapparatus would include a stop member 10 disposed at one end of the pipeP and the upset-forming or expanding member 12 disposed at the other endof the pipe P, whereby upon movement of the stop member 10 and the saidforming member 12 toward each other with the pipe P therebetween, theupset portion A is formed by expanding one of the plain ends of the pipeP. Thereafter, a bead B is formed on the pipe P at a predetermineddistance from the opposite end of the pipe P from that end at which theupset portion A is formed. In forming the head, a pair of bead-formingrolls 15 and 16 are provided, with the roller 15 being positioned insideof the pipe P and the roller 16 being outside thereof, whereby uponrelative rotation of such rollers 15 and 16 .the annular bead B isformed. A stop member 14 on the shaft of roller 15 properly locates thebead. The annular bead B is formed a sufficient distance from the end ofthe pipe P so that upon connecting a plurality of sections of the pipe Ptogether, such annular bead B serves as a stop to limit the extent ofthreading of the pipe sections together whereby the strain on thethreads is relieved, particularly where such pipe is verticallysuspended in use as in the case of pipe known as shot-hole pipe.

In the next step of the method, the pipe P is threaded at the upsetportion A with internal threads 19 and the other end of the pipe Padjacent the bead B is formed with external threads 20. The threads 19and 20 are formed simultaneously during the rotation of the pipe P inone direction and preferably, such threads 19 and 20 are formed byrolling dies 22 and 23 located at one end of the pipe P and rolling dies24 and 25 located at the other end of pipe P. The forming of threads inpipe with rolling dies is known, and an example thereof is illustratedin the U. S. patent to Parker et al., No. 2,548,444, but so far as isknown, threads have been rolled heretofore on each end of a pipeseparately. However, in this invention, the threads are formed on eachend simultaneously during the rolling operation and a more uniformthread actually results than when the pipe ends are separately threaded.Also the operation is materially speeded up which results in economicsaving.

The above-described method can, of course, be carried out with varioustypes of apparatus, and one type of suitable apparatus is illustrated inFigures 2-6. In Figure 2, the combination apparatus is shown with endframes or frame members 30 and 31 which are laterally spaced from eachother, and each of which may be formed of one or more sections,Disposed-between such frame members 30 and 31 are support members 32, 33and '34. The support members 32 are disposed near the upper ends of theframe members 30 and 31 and can serve as a rack for the pipe P before ithas been passed through the apparatus of this invention. The pipe P withits plain ends can be fed from the support members 32 by gravity, byhand or by a suitable mechanism (not shown) to the upset-forming portionof the apparatus which includes the upset-forming mandrel l2 and thestop member 10. With the section of pipe P positioned between suchmembers 10 and 12, they are moved relatively to'each other so as to formthe upset portion A on the pipe P, as will be explained in detail inconnection with this portionof the apparatus which is illustratedin'Figure 3. When the members 10 and 12 are laterally retracted, thesection of pipe P is then passed to the next section of support members33 by a rotation of star feeders 36 which are mounted on alaterally-extending shaft 37 positioned be tween the frame members 30and 31. The rotation of the shaft 37, and therefore the rotation of thestar feeder 36, is controlled by an intermittently-operated motor (notshown) connectedto the shaft'37, or by any other suit able means. Eachof the star feeders 36 has a plurality of notches 36a into one of whichthe external portion of the pipe P is positioned during the feeding ofthe pipe P from its location between the forming members 10 and 12 tothe support members'33.

The section of pipe P rolls by gravity or is fed by hand, or any othersuitable mechanism (not shown) along the support members 33 forpositioning in alignment with the bead-forming dies and 16. The detailsof the construction of the bead-forming dies 15 and 16 is describedhereinafter in connection with the illustration of Figure 4, but,generally speaking, the pipe P is formed with the bead by manuallypositioning the pipe. P so that the die 15 extends intothe bore of oneend of the pipe P. Thereafter the dies 15 and 16 are rotated relative toeach other to form the annular bead B in the section of pipe P. Afterthe pipe P is released from the beadforming rollers 15 and 16, it ismanually retracted from the. dies 15 and 16 and then is fed to the nextsupport members 34 by star feeders 40 which are substantially duplicatesof the star feeders 36 and have similar notches 40a for receiving thesections of pipe P. The star feeders 40 are on a shaft 41 which extendsthrough the frame members 30 and 31, and the shaft 41 .is rotated by anysuitable mechanism, but preferably as shown in Figure 2, a chain 43extends from a sprocket 44 on the shaft 37 to a sprocket 45 on the shaft41 so. that the rotation of the shaft 37 is imparted to the shaft 41. v

The pipe P moves by gravity, by hand or by anysuitable mechanism (notshown) along the support members 34 to the thread-forming portion of theapparatus which includes the thread-forming rollers 22, 23 and 24, 25.The details of the thread-forming rollers and the mechanism connectedtherewith are described hereinafter in connection with Figures 5 and 6.The pipe P is positioned on the rollers 22, 23 and 24, by moving the twosets of rollers toward each other to locatethe roller 22 in one end ofthe pipe P and the roller 24 Within the other end of the pipe P.Thereafter therollers 22, 23 and 24, 25 are rotated so as to roll thethreads in both ends of the pipe P simultaneously. The rollers arethereafter retracted and the pipe P is fed from the machine by starfeeders which are mounted on shafts 51, and each of which has notches59:2 for receiving the completed pipe P and feeding same. The shaft 51is preferably rotated by a chain 52 which extends from a sprocket 53 onthe shaft.41' to a sprocket 54 on the shaft 51.

4 With the construction illustrated in Figure 2, one piece of pipe maybe formed with an upset A while a second piece of pipe is formed withthe bead and a third piece of pipe is formed with the threads at eachend thereof, so that a continuous operation with the machine is efiectedwith all three portions thereof operating at the same time on differentsections of pipe. The device is illustrated as partially operable byhand, but it will be appreciated that various known types of electricaland 16611211110211 controls can be employed for automatic operationwhereby pipe may be fed from the supports 32 and discharged from thestar feeders after being completed without the handling of the pipeduring such treatment. 7

In Figure 3, the upset-forming portion of the combination apparatus isillustrated as having the laterally-spaced end frames 30a and 31a, eachof which is secured to the common base S (a portion of which is shownand which rests upon thelfioor or other foundation). The upsetformingmember 12 has a forward tapered portion 126: extending radially from themain cylinder portion 12b. A shaft is connected to the upset-formingmember 12 and it extends through and is supported by, the frame a member36a and suitable bearings (not shown). .The member 12 also extendsthrough an opening 57a in a stripper plate 57 mounted on the support Sso that upon retraction of the member 12 from the upset portion A of thepipe P, the pipe P is readily. stripped or removed from the member 12-The outer end of the shaft 61) isconnected with a piston 61 positionedin a hydraulic cylinder 62. During the inwardmovement of the member 12,fluid is admitted to the cylinder 62 through an inlet line 63 and isexhausted through an outlet line 64. The fluid flow'to the cylinder 62is reversed (as explained hereinafter with respect to Figure 7) toretract the upset-forming member 12 after the upset portion A has beenformed in the pipe section C. During such retraction, the fluid willflow in through the line 64 and will flow outwardly through the line 63.The cylinder 62 can, of course, be mounted in numerous ways, butpreferably it is connected to the frame member 30:; bywelding or othersuitable securing means.

The stop member 10 is substantially cylindrical and has a suflicientlylarge diameter so that its forward or inner face 10a provides anabutment for the end of the pipe P adjacent thereto. The member 10 issupported on a shaft 67 whichextends. through and is supported by aframe member 31a in suitable bearings (not shown). The outer end of theshaft 67 has connection with a piston 68 which is slidably mounted in acylinder 69. Such cylinder. 69 is connected by welding or other securingmeans to frame member 31a. or is otherwise suitably supported. Thepiston 68 is moved by hydraulic fluid in a similar manner'to themovement of the piston 61 and for that purpose fluid lines 70 and 71(Figures'3 and 7) are provided so that the member 10 is moved inwardlyupon an admission offluid into the cylinder 69 through the line 70 andupon an exhaust of the fluid through the line 71. In some instances,however, the stop member may be fixed so that only the upset-formingmember 12"is movable,.or the stop member 10 can be the movable memberand the upset-forming member 12 can be fixed. While the upset portion Ais being formed in the pipe P by the relative movement of the members 10and 12 toward each other, the pipe P is supported in the notches 36a ofthe star feed wheels 36 which are fixed to the. shaft 37 which in turn'is supported between the frame members 30a and 31a. A- pulley 75 is con=nected to the shaft 37 and a chain or belt 76 extends around same and toa motor (not shown) which drives the shaft 37 and in turn drives thestar feeders 36. Such operation is intermittent and is coordinated sothat the feeding of thepipe P occurs after the upset portion A has beenformed and the members 10 and 12 are retracted.

As explained before, the shaft 37 has a sprocket 44 and a chain 43extends therefrom to the sprocket 45 (Figure 2) on the shaft 41 of thebead-forming portion of the apparatus.

The bead-forming apparatus is illustrated in Figure 4 and includes theframe members 3012 and 31b which are mounted on a common base S withstar feeders 40 therebetween for supporting the pipe P. For forming theannular bead B, the roller 15 is formed with an enlarged annular ring15a which is aligned with and mates with an annular groove 16:: formedin the other roller 16. The roller 16 is mounted on a shaft 78 whichextends through and is suitably supported in the frame member 31b so asto be rotatable relative to such member 3112, but nonpivotal withrespect thereto. A sprocket 79 is secured to the outer end of the shaft78 for connection with a drive belt (not shown) from a motor (notshown). The rotation of shaft 78 is imparted to the shaft 80 supportingthe bead-forming roller 15 through a gear 81 mounted on the shaft 78 anda gear 82 mounted on the shaft 80. The gears 81 and 82 are preferablystandard spur gears which have teeth which interengage sufiiciently sothat upon a pivotal movement of the shaft 80 with respect to the member31b and the shaft 78, a portion of the teeth of the gears 81 and 82remain engaged. The shaft 80 is pivotally connected to the member 31b bypivot pins 83 extending from brackets 84 on the member 31]) to theswivel housing 85 which is provided to permit rotational movement of theshaft 80 when the gears 81 and 82 are driven. The shaft 80 is normallyurged upwardly by a spring 86 which is secured to and between collars orbearings 77 so as to effect the upward urging of the shaft 80 withoutinterfering with the rotation of the shafts 78 and 80 (see Figures 4 and4A). For moving the shaft 80 downwardly into a substantially parallelposition with respect to the shaft 78, a rack 87 is mounted forreciprocating longitudinal movement by coaction with a gear 88. Suchgear 88 is held against longitudinal movement but has its shaft 89extending through a fixed support bracket 90 so that the gear 88 is freeto rotate and upon rotation to move the rack 87 upwardly or downwardly,depending upon the direction of rotation of the gear 88. For impartingrotation to the gear 88, a lever arm 91 is rigidly secured to the shaft89 and to the gear 88 and the other end thereof is pivoted at 92 to aplunger shaft 93 on a piston 94. Such piston 94 is operated by air orother fluid pressure introduced into the cylinder 95 through the fluidline 96 and exhausted through fluid line 97.

Initially, the pipe P is supported in the notches 40a of the starfeeders 40 with a bearing roller 59 in contact with the upper portion ofthe pipe P at the left end thereof. With the spring 86 acting to urgethe shaft 80 to a position pioted slightly upwardly from the normalposition parallel to the shaft 78, the pipe P is manually positionedover the lower die 16 with the die 15 extending into the right-hand endof the pipe P. The piston 94 is then moved downwardly to effect arotation of the gear 88 and therefore a downward movement of the rack 87to force the shaft 80 downwardly about its pivot pins 83 whereby adownward pressure is applied to the inside of the pipe at the annularforming ring 15a on the roller 15. Such ring 15a tends to draw andthereby enlarge the portion of the pipe P which it contacts so that theannular bead B is formed as the shafts 78 and 80 are rotated. Thefrictional contact between the annular ring 15a and the inside of thepipe P causes the pipe P to rotate as the bead B is formed, whereby auniform annular head is produced. The depth of the groove 16a will, ofcourse, determine the limit of the deformation of the pipe P to whichthe bead B can be formed, although in many cases the bead may not bedrawn to that full depth. After the bead B is formed, the piston 94 ismoved upwardly so that the spring 86 urges the shaft 6 and die 15upwardly, whereupon the pipe P is manually withdrawn from the dies 15and 16.

In Figures 5 and 6, the thread-forming portion of the combinationapparatus of this invention is illustrated, with Figure 5 illustratingthe pipe P in position prior to the positioning of the dies 22 and 24inside of the ends of the pipe P, which position is shown in Figure 6.The thread-forming apparatus of Figures 5 and 6 includes a frame member300 and a similar frame member 310, both of which are mounted upon acommon base S. The frame member 300 is secured to the base S, however,while the frame member 31c is actually a carriage which is movablelaterally along the base S from the position shown in Figure 5 to thatshown in Figure 6. The pipe P is supported in the star feeders 50 whichare provided with the notches 50a and which are firmly secured to theshaft 51 extending between the frame members 300 and 310.

The threading die 23 is formed with a spiral rib 23a and a spiral groove23b therebetween, which are left handed. The upper threading roll 22 isformed with a spiral rib 22a which has a spiral groove 22b therebetweenwhich are right handed; the rib 22a is adapted to mate with the groove23b in the roller 23. Likewise the rib 23a is adapted to mate with thegroove 22b.

The die 23 is supported on a shaft 100 which extends through bearings101 and 102 mounted on the frame member 30c, such shaft 100 being drivenby a connection to a motor (not shown) through pulleys 103, 104 and 105suitably connected by chain 106 and drive shaft 107. The shaft 100 haskeyed, or otherwise secured thereto, a standard spur gear 110 which hasgear teeth meshing with the teeth of spur gear 111 which is suitablyattached to shaft 112 supporting the threading die 22. Such shaft 112 ismounted in a swivel 114 at its outer end, which swivel 114 has pivotpins 115 at the outside thereof which extend through brackets 116attached to the frame member 300 (Figure 5A). A hearing 116a is disposedon the shaft 112 and a spring 117 is positioned therebelow so as to beconfined between the bearing 101 and the bearing 116a. Such spring 117urges the shaft 112 and the threading die 22 upwardly at all times, sothat the dies 22 and 23 may be separated (Figure 5) for the insertion ofthe die 22 into the upset portion A of the pipe P.

For moving the die 22 to a position substantially parallel to the die23, a rack 120 is mounted for'longitudinal movement relative to thesupport S. The longitudinal movement is imparted to the rack 120 by agear 122 which is affixed to a shaft 123 having a rotatable mounting ina bracket 124 connected to the support S in any suitable manner. A leverarm 125 is rigidly connected to the shaft 123 and therefore rigidlyconnected to the gear 122 whereby upon movement of the arm 125, rotationof the gear 122 is obtained, but longitudinal movement of the gear 122is prevented. The arm 125 is pivotally connected at 126 to a piston rod127 attached to a piston 128 located in a cylinder 129. The cylinder 129is operated by admitting fluid under pressure through the line 130 andexhausting fluid from below the piston 128 through the line 132. Thethread-forming dies 24 and 25 are mounted in an identical manner to themounting described above in connection with the dies 22 and 23, exceptthat such rollers are mounted on the slidable carriage 310. Therefore,the parts connected with the threading dies 24 and 25' are identified inthe drawings by the same numerals as those parts used in connection withthe dies 22 and 23 except that they are followed by a prime mark. Theshaft 100' is provided with splines at its outer portion so that it canslide relative to the pulley 103' without disengaging from same. Thecarriage 31c is moved to the left for positioning the dies 22 and 24with the ends of the pipe'P by actuation of a power cylinder 200 havinga piston 201 therein which is secured to the carriage 31c. As thecarriage 31c moves 7 .to the left fromthe position shownin Figure Sto,the position shown inj Figure 6, theannularfiange'br ring "24c-fi'rstengages the right end of the'pipe'P- and thereafter continuedmovement'ofthe carriage 31c to-the left moves the pipe P- to the left until theleft endof the pipe P contacts the flange or. ring 220. An electricalswitch 141 is' provided for'contact by the lever 131 on the carriage 31cwhen the -carriage 31c reaches its'left position and the dies therebyarein position for the threading operation on the pipe P. Upon a closingof such switch 141, dies 22 and 24 are'moved downwardly to the threadingposition shown'in Figure 6 (as explained hereinafter with respect toFigure 7) wherein they are substantially parallel tothe rollers 23 and25 so that the threads can thereby be'rolle'd in both ends of the pipeP.

As'previouslymentioned; the spiral rib 22a is right handed and thespiral rib 23a. is left handed. Similarly, a spiral rib 24a is righthanded and a spiral rib 25a is left handed. The motor which drives thepulleys 185 and the shaft 197 drives both the pulleys 103 and 103',whereby both sets of dies 22, 23 and 24, 25 are driven by the samemotor. V ith the spiral ribs on the dies being in the directionsindicated above, the motor is connected so as to drive thethread-forming dies 23 and 25 in a counter-clockwise direction (asviewed from the right 7 end of Figure 5 and Figure 6) so that the dies24 and 22 are. rotated clockwise (as viewed from the right-hand end ofsuch figures). Such rotation results in the formation of right-handthreads on the external surface at the end of the pipe adjacent the beadB and right-hand threads Within the upset portion A of the pipe P It isimportant'to note that during such formation of the threads in the endsof the pipe P, the threads are formed simultaneously on each section ofthe pipe P and it has been found that because there is a tendency forthe pipe to be urged to the left a slight amount, in accordance. withthe pitch ofthe spiral threads on the various dies, more uniform threadsare formed on both ends because the dies 24 and 25 tend to push the pipeP to the left while the dies 22 and 23 tend to pull same to the left. Ifsuch movement does not result during the rolling action by thedies 22,23 and 24, 25, the threads are not properly formed but'instead the ribson the rollers tend to ride over the previously-formed grooves todistort or destroy threads previously formed, or to prevent formingthreads at all.

After. the dies'have turned a predetermined number of rotations to formthe threads in the pipe P, the racks 120 and 120 are raised upwardly byreversing the fluid flow to the pistons 129 and 129' whereby the upperdies 22 and 24 are raised to separate same and then the carriage 31c ismoved to the right to the position shown in Figure 5 whereupon pipe P isthen manually moved from its position between the threading rollers.

In Figure 7, a diagram. illustrates the control system for the operationof the various portions of the apparatus illustrated in Figures 36. Theoperator depresses the foot pedal 15% to operate the manual controlvalve 3% so that air or other fluid is admitted through line 2&2 intocylinder 2430 to move the piston 21H to the left, whereby the carriage31c (see Figures 5 and 6) is moved to the left. The arm or lever 131 isthus forced into contact with the switch 141 for actuating the maincontrol valve 460, whereupon air or other fluid is admitted to thecylinders 62, 69, 95,129 and 129' to operate same for simultaneous lycausing the upsetting, heading and threading operations to beperformed'on three dilferent pieces of pipe in the manner previouslydescribed. An electronic timer 500 is set for operation a predeterminedtime so that the valves 30% and 4%. are automatically reversed to returnthe pistons in the cylinders 62, 69, 95, 12$ and 129 to their originalpositions. The star wheels 36, 40 and 56 are then rotated by-d rivingthe chains 43 and52'to advance all of the three pieces of pipe. T hepipe being threaded is of coursefinished and is discharged from the,apparatus;

The pipe which hashad its annular bead formed therein is advanced .forthreading. The pipe which has had only the upset'portion formed thereinis advanced to the beadforming dies 15 and 16. A new piece of pipe ismoved into positionfor having the first operation performed thereon,namely, the forming of the upset portion A in the pipe. When the pipesare thus advanced, the above operations are repeated by the operatordepressing the foot pedal 150. V

Although the invention has been described above in connection withpartial automatic operation of some of the portions of the apparatus, itwill be appreciated that it is within the scope of this invention tooperate the apparatus either entirely by hand, semi-automatically, orentirely automatically, the various electrical connections for suchautomatic operation being of the type commonly employed and well knownto those skilled in the art. Likewise, the various portions ofthe-apparatus illustrated inFigures 3-6 can be; formed into'a compoundunit of the type illustrated somewhat-schematicahy in Figure 2 so thatsequential operation is obtained, or the portions illustrated in Figures3-6 can be mounted separately for separate operation if so desired. 7

The foregoing disclosure and description of the invention isillustrative and explanatory thereof and various changes in the size,shape and materials, as well as in the details of the illustratedconstruction, may be made,

within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from thespirit of the invention.

What is claimedisr V V 1. An apparatus for performing metal workingoperations on the ends of a tubular member and including means forforming threads on both ends of said member, said apparatusincluding, afirst die assembly forthreading one end of the member and including aninner threading die adapted to enter the bore of the member and an outerco-acting threading die disposed adjacent to the outer surface of theend of the member, means for moving the threading dies of said firstassembly into contact with the inner and outer surfaces of the endportion of the member and for maintaining such contact under"predetermined pressure, the axis of said dies being parallel to eachother and to theaxisof the member when said dies are engagement with themember, a second die assembly for threading'the other end of the memberand including an inner threading die adapted to enter the bore of saidother end of the member 'and'an outer co-ac ting threading die disposedadjacent to the outer surface of said end of'the member, means formoving the threading dies of said second assembly into contact with theinner and outer surfaces of the end portion of the member and formaintaining such contact under predetermined pressure, the axis of thedies of said second assembly being parallel to each other and to theaxis of the member when the dies are in engagement with the member, thethreads on the diesof both assemblies having the same pitch and lead,means fixing the diesof both assemblies against axial movement relativeto the member when said dies are engaged with the member and during thethread rolling operation, means including said dies for supporting themember for unrestrained movement in a direction axially of the memberwhen the dies are engaged with the member, and means for synchronouslyrotating the threading dies of both assemblies, whereby the engagementof the dies" with the member imparts a rotation and longitudinalmovement to the member tosimultaneously form threads on each end ofthemember.

2. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1, together. with I means mountingone of the die assemblies in a fixed position, and means 'for mountingthe other die assembly on a movable carriage in spaced relation 'to thefirst assembly in a horizontal plane, whereby the distance between thedie assemblies may be varied to permit the tubular-memberto be,positioned between or removed from the area between saidassemblies. .7

3. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1, with means for forming an upsetportion at one end of the tubular member prior to the threadingoperation, one of said die assemblies operating within said upsetportion to form threads therein.

4. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1, with means for forming anannular bead inwardly of one end of the tubular member prior to thethreading operation, one of said die assemblies acting upon the portionof the member between said bead and the end of said member.

5. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1, with means for forming an upsetportion at one end of the tubular member prior to the threadingoperation, and means for forming an annular bead inwardly of that end ofthe member opposite the upset portion also prior to the threadingoperation, the dies of one of the die assemblies engaging the upsetportion to form threads therein and the dies of the other assemblyengaging the other end portion of the member between the annular beadand the member end to form threads on said portion.

6. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein each die assembly hasone die mounted on a horizontal shaft, and its other die mounted upon apivotally supported shaft which may be swung relative to the first shaftto separate the dies and permit insertion of the member therebetween,the means for maintaining a predetermined pressure on the diescomprising a movable element engageable with the pivotally supportedshaft to urge the shaft in a direction holding the dies into contactwith the member, and fluid-actuated means controlling the movement ofsaid element to apply desired pressure to said shaft.

7. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1, together with means independentof the means for synchronously rotating the dies for controlling themeans which applies a predetermined pressure to the dies of theassemblies to maintain said dies in contact with the surfaces of themember.

8. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein one die assembly hasone of its dies mounted on a horizontal ly extending fixed shaft and itsother die carried by a pivotally mounted shaft, whereby swinging of thelatter shaft separates the dies for entry of the end portion of themember therebetween, fluid-operated means for con trolling movement ofthe pivoted shaft and for applying the predetermined pressure to thedies when the same are in contact with the member, a slidable carriagemovable axially with respect to the member, means mounting the seconddie assembly on said carriage whereby the assembly is movable relativeto the member to facilitate positioning and removal of the member to andfrom threading position between the die assemblies, said second assemblyhaving one die mounted on a horizontal shaft and its second die carriedby a pivotally mounted shaft, whereby swinging of the latter shaftseparates the dies for entry of the end portion of the membertherebetween, and fluid operated means for controlling movement of saidpivoted shaft and for applying the predetermined pressure to the dies ofsaid second assembly when the same are in contact with the member.

9. An apparatus as set forth in claim 1, wherein each die assemblyincludes a horizontally extending shaft having one die mounted thereon,a pivoted shaft which is parallel to the first shaft when the dies arein threading position and having the second die mounted thereon, aspring means between the shafts urging the shafts apart to separate thedies from contact with the surfaces of the member, a pressure-applyingelement engaging the pivoted shaft, a gear rack on said element, arotatable gear in constant mesh with the gear rack, whereby rotation ofthe gear moves the element and applies a force thereto which istransmitted to the pivoted shaft, and a fluid actuated piston meansoperably connected with the rotatable gear for controlling said gear andthe movement of the pressure-applying element.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS326,516 Pierce Sept. 15, 1885 1,392,844 Merolle Oct. 4, 1921 1,623,807Oakley Apr. 5, 1927 1,782,994 Lindgren Nov. 25, 1930 2,004,816 LindgrenJune 11, 1935 2,342,817 Plagemann Feb. 29, 1944 2,506,657 Webster May 9,1950 2,548,444 Parker et a1. Apr. 10, 1951 2,669,139 Finch Feb. 16, 1954FOREIGN PATENTS 120,464 Australia Oct. 11, 1945

